


Back Where we Started

by Phoenixrises12



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Baby's First Fanfic, Experimentation, F/M, Female Protagonist, Flashbacks, Fluff, Maybe - Freeform, No idea what I'm doing, No smut...ok maybe later, Original Character(s), Resets, Romance, Second Person, Slow Burn Relationship, more fluff that toriel, puns, will change to third person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2016-04-08
Packaged: 2018-05-07 20:49:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5470373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenixrises12/pseuds/Phoenixrises12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You find yourself in the Judgement Hall, possessed by Chara only to return to old memories out of desperation and determination to your old lab room, your surgeries, Gaster who treated you more like a daughter than you would have ever hoped before he disappeared, and your experiences in Snowdin with new friends you've made. Who knows, you may even get yourself a handsome skeleton boyfriend along the way (hint hint).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Judgement Hall...Again

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I've never really attempted creating a fanfic before so I hope I can do it justice! D: Okay now you may carry on...

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Sans looked up at you as soon as the chimes faded. A sad smile etched on his face as he looked over at you. His boney hand gripped the red scarf around his neck before his left eye brightened with its familiar blue hue. The yellow lights from the Judgement Hall windows nearly shrouded his features, however, you knew the sounds he made all too well. When he was angry, sad, happy, in pleasure. You knew his hands twitched allowing his bones to make a popping noise when he clenched too tight, being made to start all over with a different human he had grown to care about. Was he fated for this life? To lose everyone his loved? Over and over and over again? Your eyes locked with his a fraction of a second before you could feel the sting of tears prick your own eyes. You wanted to reach out to the short skeleton. To tell him you were still there. That you loved him. However, that wasn’t the game Chara wanted to play. Though you think it may have ended with Frisk, they’ve always been waiting. Just to try again, To win.

“You’re going to have a bad time, kid,” you heard the familiarly husky voice say in the dimmed light of the Judgement Hall. 

“We’ve heard this shpiel before, oh SANSY. Let’s skip to the fun,” your voice hissed, accompanied by an all too eager laugh. Your body tensed then tingled at the rushed feeling of adrenalin and determination. Neither feeling was yours, yet your arms and legs moved forward on their own accord as they made their way down the Hall to the awaiting short skeleton. The quick tapping of your shoes against the marble floor only quickened if it were possible. Blade out, you could feel your lips twitch in a smirk at the glint coming from the bloodied weapon in your hand. Tears pricked his eyes, threatening to spill as he kept attacking. Kept dodging. Every attack you attempted. Chara was eager.

Although, each attack from him was just as equally restrained. He didn’t want to hurt you and Chara knew that far too well. Tears threatened to spill from your own eyes when memories of the past plagued you. Your friends smiling faces, their warm embraces, the open doors to their homes that welcomed you. Things were never this way, this dark. Things were better, warm, full of love. From him. Undyne. Alyphys. Toriel. Asgore. From Papyrus. Oh Gods, Papyrus, you sobbed.

Sans it’s not me! you screamed desperately in your own head. Hear me, Sans! Yet he couldn’t even if he tried. His hollowed eyes were filled with emotion. Loss. Emptiness. Loneliness. Fear. Heartbreak. You had the chance to take it all in before your body was overtaken by his familiar blue power. You were thrown in all directions against wall after wall. You only received one clear image of his face before his bones pierced through your chest like paper, impaling you, feeling smooth and cold as the icicles in Snowdin. He was crying, you said with your last dying thought.

~~~~~~~

You woke up in the Judgement Hall. Again. And again. And again. Make it stop. You begged and pleaded to Chara every time you had reawoken. However, the demented spirit within you simply laughed and returned to the save point at the end of the room. Always to the save point. They wanted to break you, to make sure you wouldn’t have that ability to gain control of your body again. 

Although, why you, you wondered? You weren’t any ordinary human, that’s why. A child created from nothing but experiments. A child never really born, yet was. Make sense? Chara would never reset, only to return to attacking all over again. Only to watch the tears fall from Sans’s eyes again and again with dark eyes that weren’t yours, yet you wondered sometimes who they used to belonged to. Using the hands that weren’t yours to hold a knife that wasn’t meant to be in your hands. 

Sans never meant to fall in love with one of Gaster’s experiments. Even though it took him a long time to muster the willpower to confess, he could only watch you grow for the longest time. Born a broken child and left behind to die in the Ruins, all Gaster wanted to do was recreate you. He gave you a new arm that wasn’t so frail, new eyes that could see, a leg that moves, that allowed you to walk. Then Gaster disappeared one day and it was all up to Sans. Was it a mistake? he wondered, when he let you into Snowdin? His home? His brother’s life?

Only to be finally up close to him and seeing the dark circles under his eyes from fatigue, and the wear and tear that took over his familiar blue jacket before you’re killed again and again. You wanted to run over to him, to hold him. 

And again everything goes black and you’re face to face with a familiar yellow flower that’s always able to prickle your skin like a thousand needles pressing at once. And again you see your options: “CONTINUE” or “RESET”

“You’ve already heard that haven’t you? You want to know more, don’t you? How they got there? Why they got here? Fine.”

“CONTINUE”

~RESET~


	2. Welcome to Snowdin

It’s dark, you thought. It had been dark for so long, you nearly forgot where you were. You were stiff, below you was the cold steel of a lab table. You felt the tug of leather binds around your waist, your wrists, and your ankles. He didn’t want you to move just yet. He needed you to be still to finish the operation. You shouldn’t have been aware though. You should have been asleep like he needed you to be to finish the operation.

It was he who was unaware when you felt a thick gel line the outer part of your eye sockets. The cold substance stayed in place like glue until a cold boney finger, ever so gently, rubbed it around the outer extremity. You shivered then and the boney finger froze in place. “Uh...boss? Is she-”

“Normal human reflex, Sans,” you heard the familiar voice of the older scientist say then a shuffle of footsteps upon the metal floors until they had stood right beside you. “Scalpel, please.”

“Sure, boss…” Sans’s unsure voice said at the same moment you heard the clanging of metal. You could tell that he was sharpening it when you heard the scraping of it along something rough. The footsteps returned then. 

Sans looked up at his much taller boss. W.D. Gaster. The scientist’s lab coat fit snugly over his shoulders for the slender man that he was. Sans watched him when he took a surgical marker and drew dotted lines over certain areas of your closed eyes. His face was void and determined at the same time when he was focused on a project. He concentrated as the pen gently glided over your eye sockets. Beside him was his table complete with his scattered pages of notes, tools, and a jar, carrying two eyes that were colored like that of how he imagined oceans above ground looked. They were beautiful. You were lucky, Sans thought in awe. 

His concentration was broken then when he heard your scream in agony. He rushed over to Gaster’s side to look you over. He knew you hadn’t been completely under. He knew it.

The pain was agonizing. You held as still as a statue when before you knew it the sharp edge of the scalpel sank into the soft flesh by your eye socket. You wanted it to stop. You struggled against the binds, while an estranged scream sounding nothing like your own left your throat. At least you didn’t think it was yours, you’ve never been awake during one of these. “Stop!” you begged. It wasn’t until the familiar boney hand touched your cheek for a fraction of a second before placing something cold and plastic over your mouth. 

You couldn’t see, yet your strong hearing compensated for the blindness you suffered. “You’ll be okay,” you heard him whisper. Over and over again.

Funny. You didn’t think monster prayed for anything. Yet there he was, hoping and praying that you would be okay when it was all over. It wasn’t until you felt a smile tug at your lips before you fell into blissful slumber again.  
~~~~~~~~~~~

You weren’t sure how much had time had passed since then. As you gradually reached consciousness again, you lazily came to the realization that you weren’t on a hard table anymore. You could feel silken blankets beneath you and a feathery like pillow beneath your head keeping it supported. You also wondered where the beeping machines were. It was quiet except for the faint sounds of chatter and shirping from outside. Again and again you grew increasingly confused at the realization of the new area you were in.

Your hand twitched along the soft comforter around you and you tried to muster as much energy as you could to move. Freezing when your head brushed against a fuzzy material. A tingling feeling reaching your eyes when you felt them shift from the left to the right. A strange new feeling that our body wasn’t used to at all. Are these my eyes? you wondered. Shakily lifting your hand to touch your eye lid, a soft surprised moan left your lips at the feeling of a bump beneath your lids. They fluttered open then. Blurring and finally settling to see what was around you.

The room was a mess. A pile of clothes decorating the clean blue carpet. In the middle of the room there was a treadmill looking like it hadn’t been used in ages by the looks of a few spiders playing poker under it with a couple punch cards. In the far right corner of the room was a desk with a clutter of papers and you wondered who’s room this was exactly. Sitting up, you felt a blue jacket that was new to you on you. One of the shoulders little on by being worn loosely. Instinctively you hugged it closer, inhaling the scent of wood chips and raspberries.

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” the familiar voice spoke up from the door.

Surprised you looked to the door and saw a skeleton on the shorter side standing there. He was in a white t-shirt accompanying a spaghetti stain here and there, black shorts, white socks and pink slippers. “Was...that a pun?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, kiddo,” he grinned and walked to your bedside. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel...weird. Where am I?”

“Welcome to Snowdin, uh, I never got your name?” He smiled, looking you over.

“Oh, It’s _____”

He nodded at that. Sans looked over every curve of your face and wondered if it was obvious how worried he was about you. He didn’t know what this arising feeling within him was yet he knew he had to keep you safe down here just like he had with the little weirdo, Frisk. 

Sans smiled at the thought. He and Frisk endured a lot to be here and after all that subsided, he still didn’t have the nerve to leave to the surface with everyone. He was still plagued with nightmares and fears of another reset. He still awoke in a cold sweat or gave his younger brother Papyrus some excuse to having to work late again just to avoid the terrors that grabbed him in sleep. In the nights he stayed home, watching over his brother, he would lounge on the couch watching Mettaton reruns before he would still feel the icy slither of his demons snake up his chest to grab hold of him when sleep threatened to consume him. Yet, even then he felt the need to ease into the idea of the outside and he knew many enjoyed it from hearing tales monsters told at Grillby’s.

Although now he had someone knew to watch over, so maybe he wouldn’t need to lie to Papy anymore.

It was the sound of another voice from downstairs then that broke him out of his concentration then. “SANS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE PREPARED A FEAST OF MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI FOR YOU AND YOUR HUMAN!”

Sans grinned. “We’ll be right down, Paps!”

You watched how his face changed when he was in his thoughts. You didn’t have the heart to interrupt even when his face twisted in a serious grimace. For some reason, you enjoyed how his smile fell easily when his brother called for them. 

“Welp, c’mon. Let’s get from food, shall we?” He said as he stood and held a hand out for you. Probably to help you up.

You took hold of it and silently noted each bump and crack as well as how cold it was. You pushed your weight off the bed and stood on shaky legs. You have fallen if it hadn’t been for him supporting you.

“You never told me your name,” you murmured, looking at him.

“Oh, it’s Sans,” he smiled and winked. Then slowly led you to the door where you were greeted with the delicious smell of pasta sauce and meat.


	3. Tis the season?

Dinner was delicious despite the cautions that Sans threw your way of his brother not being the best cook ever. You downed the whole plate of spaghetti, even going out of your way to ask for seconds. You didn’t think there was anything wrong with the food and felt full after a second big plate of the much taller skeleton’s pasta.

If it were even possible, Sans’s wide eyes watched you as you downed it all. “Geez, kid. When I told you to act, I didn’t mean to down it all. Are you sick? Need to hurl? Uh...Penne for your thoughts?”

“SANS!” The younger brother complained while he was washing the dishes. 

You grinned and shook your head. “It’s amazing. I thought you said it was bad.”

“I...did. You’re weird, kiddo,” he grinned.

“Thank you,” you said with your mouth full, finishing the rest of the noodles on your plate before pushing it forward.”Thank you, Papyrus. It was delicious.”

“WOWIE! LEAST YOU HAVE BETTER TASTE THAN MY BROTHER,” Papyrus said with the biggest grin, then taking a moment to sneer at his brother. 

Sans simply leaned back in his chair then with a smug look on his face. He looked over at you calmly and felt an unfamiliar warmth swell within him. He hadn’t seen Papyrus that happy in a long time. Mainly because Undyne hasn’t let him into the Royal Guard yet. She was worried for him yet tried her best to teach him different recipes and such to give him something else to be passionate about. 

Watching you as you engaged in conversation with Papyrus, Sans felt content. You brought happiness into their home and you haven’t even been with them more than a day or two. Sans was astonished, overwhelmed even. He didn’t think he could send you away even if he tried. And he really needed to stop calling you a kid. You weren’t a kid, not by a long shot. Yet you didn’t complain and Sans loved that you didn’t. But you deserved to be treated like more.

“Sans? SSSaaannnsss?” You were waving a hand in front of his face. Sans shook his head then and focused looking back at you.

“Yea, Ki-....___?”

You smiled an easy smile. It lit up your eyes, creating a beautiful glimmer of blue. “Papy said something about Christmas coming. I’ve never really...celebrated. I um...” you mumbled and trailed off timidly, twiddling your thumbs. You thought you probably sounded silly. They’d probably laugh at you. They probably wouldn’t even invite you to stay with them. Sans will tell you not to stay anymore because you hadn’t asked to. You woke up in this home and didn’t know if this was permanent. You felt a rush of cold prickle your arms, the back of your neck (a breeze from the window letting the baby hairs tickle it), your stomach. You felt so...stupid.

Memories flooded back in a flash. Memories of old dreams you had when you were under. Except...they weren’t dreams. They felt so real, so vivid. These were real memories but you’ve never remembered being in those places. The world was dim around you. It was winter, you could tell when you saw some fresh snow around the base of countless trees. The thick trees kept you prisoner within an empty (or lonely) forest. The setting you were in was dark and uninviting. The trees which twisted, fell, and bent at odd angles created a barrier between the chilling woods and the outside world. The creatures of the night who weren’t yet in hibernation played their song, welcoming the first snowfall of winter. No one but Jack Frost wandered the woods, setting his frost along all evidence of previous seasons in preparation for winter.

No matter how much you tried to run you felt pressure of unseen forces knocking you back. You felt as if countless hands were pushing you away. You felt like a rag doll. Cold hands pushing you around. Cold hands bringing you down onto your knees in the small space. 

The sharp edges of broken tree branches and mulch scratched your skin. Your hands bled, your jeans tore and your knees bleed. You could feel liquid running don your face. Tears? Blood? You wondered. You screamed for anyone to hear you.

Yet all you were greeted with was sinister laughter. Before you, from the earth, a small yellow flower sprouted, a wicked smile plastered onto it’s face. “You IDIOT. Did you think anyone would hear you?! Did you think anyone would CARE to help you!? Not this time~ Not this reset.”

Reset?

You gripped dirt from the ground. “Reset…? What’s that supposed to mean?” You whimpered.

You felt something slither around you, catching a glimpse of a green vine from the moonlight that came through tree slits. Before you could process it, the green thing struck you across your face enough to leave a red mark. The cry you let out was enough to earn you a bigger smile from the sinister flower. 

“Oh, you’re so STUPID. Don’t play coy with ME!” It came closer to you, multiple vines out to strike you. And then did. Again and again. But you froze because...you didn’t feel anything. All you felt was cold hands on your arms and a sensation that felt like you were being shaken. 

Back to reality.

“____!”  
Started, you were snapped back to reality from the sound of your name coming from the shorter skeleton. You shook then. Tear threatening to spill.

“Hey. Hey now.” Sans embraced you. He held you close, allowing you to let out whatever was pent up inside. He worried about this. Worried those eyes would mess with your head. He hoped to whatever creature was looking down at them that it wouldn’t get worse. “You can spend Christmas with us, ______”

“YES, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL FIND YOU THE BEST PRESENT EVER TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER...THAT WOULD MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER, RIGHT?” Papyrus said, leaning close to peer at your face. 

You sniffed and wiped the tears from your eyes. You looked up at the skelebrothers then and watched the warm welcoming looks on their faces. Your heart swelled with happiness and you ducked your head into the crook of Sans’s neck and cried. 

Except.

These tears were happy. 

Relieved.

Hopeful. Were so hopeful.

“Yea Paps,” Sans said finally. “I think it’s exactly what she needs.”

And with that, you looked forward to a Christmas with the Skelebrothers and who knows, maybe you’d meet new people too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay soooo you know how I said there was a system? Yea that system flew out the window when Christmas fun times came up. Anyway I hope you lovelies enjoy this chapter! Next update will hopefully be on Christmas! I'm so thankful for all these reads!
> 
> Have a wonderful Christmas and happy holidays!


	4. Merry Christmas

You felt awkward that last night. You couldn’t help what happened to you when it did. You couldn’t even explain why that happened. However, the loving gazes the brothers gave you, made you feel welcomed, accepted into their family. Papyrus had even told you that he missed having a little frisk around so having you here was so much fun for him.

You didn’t know much about the ambassador, however, you knew that they lived with the king and queen. Toriel was especially attached to the child so you knew that she would have jumped at the opportunity to let them stay with her.

That night, the three of you were setting up their home for Christmas. Okay, you needed to rephrase that. Sans lounged on the couch while you and Papyrus set up the house for Christmas. Papyrus was so excited when he was decorating the tree. He said that Sans was always lazy when it came to the tree because he worked “a skele-ton” and was too “exhausted” to reach the upper regions of the tree.

You didn’t complain though. Papyrus said that many of their friends were coming over today. He was so excited he even started listing them off to you. Some of them you didn’t know but you didn’t have the heart to interrupt him. Undyne, Alphys, Asgore, Toriel. 

When everything was decorated and perfect, Sans walked over and grinned. “Wow, we did a great job.”

“BROTHER, YOU LAZY BONES! YOU DIDN’T HELP AT ALL.”

The shorter skeleton simply smiled and looked at the work they’d done. He brought everyone’s presents and laid them under the tree. Everyone had decided to drop off their presents the night before to be prepared for the festivities. Sans glanced over at your face while he set them down. You were in awe at the colors and lights. You even looked sad when you watched him place the presents under. You probably thought that none were for you. Yet Sans smiled because the look in your eyes wasn’t sadness but happiness because who knows. Maybe you were happy that you at least got to be involved. That him and Pappers were happy. Sans just wished that you knew that they were happier because you were there too.

“Hey ____?”

Sans’s voice broke you out of your thoughts from the marvel in from of you. Looking over at him, you smiled calmly. “Need help?”

“Mhm, come help me put these under the tree.”

“Oh, ok.” You knelt by his side and picked up a few. A couple from Asgore to Toriel. A few from Toriel to Frisk. Even those from Alphys to Undyne. One by one you moved them until one present was left behind. One with your name on it. You stared at it, you wondered why you didn’t burn holes through it with just your stare. “Is that right..?” you mumbled.

Sans smiled and pushed it under the tree. “No opening it till everyone comes.”

“Wh…” Your eyes darted from it then to Sans. “You’re serious…” Taking a moment to process it, you broke into a grin and hugged the skeleton. You placed a big kiss on his cheek and your heart swelled with joy when a blue blush crept up to his cheeks. “Is it from you?” you asked hopeful.

“It might be,” he smiled shyly suddenly. 

“SANS PICKED THE BEST GIFT FOR YOU HUMAN!” Papyrus interrupted, setting his own set of presents under the tree all labelled to the same person. To a Mettaton.

“Papyrus, isn’t Mettaton that robot from those TV shows..?” 

Papyrus’s grin was huge when he nodded all too eagerly and placing a hand over his non existent heart. “METTATON IS VERY DEAR TO ME, HUMAN! I HOPE YOU, TOO, WILL MAKE GREAT FRIENDS WITH HIM.”

That made you all too nervous, being in the same place as a star. “I’d like that, Papy. Thank you.” From your peripherals you noticed Sans roll his eyes (or what it looked like it could be.) He must not like that Mettaton very much, you guessed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, each of the skelebrothers’s friends trickled in in pairs. Voices were booming especially coming from the captain of the royal guard, Undyne. Last to arrive was a robot. He actually looked attractive for being made out of metal. On his television shows he looked like a metal box to you, except you couldn’t believe your eyes when he walked in. His boots clicking as his walked. He actually looked...fabulous.

Mettaton made his way over to Papyrus and you watched as they embraced. Mettaton had the biggest smile on his face when he handed him a present. 

“METTATON, DID YOU SAY HELLO TO OUR NEWEST FRIEND?”

Mettaton curiously looked your direction and smiled. “Oh, why hello darling~ It’s a pleasure to meet you~” His hand shake shook you a little uncomfortably and it was Sans who pulled you away.

“Easy Mettaton.”

“Oh, forgive me, Darling. Seems I don’t know my own strength~”

The rest of the night went on like that. The friends all showered you with friendly hellos and to your surprise, some even brought you gifts. A blanket from Toriel, flowers from Asgore, a spear from Undyne, a few books and DVDs from Alphys (she called them Manga and Anime, Kissy Kissy Mew Mew being the top one saying that you should read that one first), even a cookbook from Papyrus, but nothing from the shorter skeleton. Either way, you felt welcome, included, and happy.

A few times during the night, dark thoughts threatened to slip into your mind and every time a friend snapped you to reality and peppered you with love.

When the last of the Skelebrothers’s friends were leaving, Sans dragged you back upstairs to his room and shut the door behind him. He was happy, seeing as how the family accepted you as part of them. Even Frisk grew to love you all too quickly which made his old bones warm.

He held out a small box to you when he felt the tension become awkward at the silence between you both. “Here, for you.”

“Oh...thank you.” You took it out of his hand. You warm hands brushing his cold bones for a moment. You gently unwrapped the wrapping on it and pulled off the lid. Inside the box was a cold key and nothing else. With a question in your eyes, you dropped it into your hand. “What does this open?” you lifted your eyes to meet Sans’s.

“It’s a key to our house. I made a new one, hoping you would...stay.”

You felt your heart swell at his words. You closed your fingers over the key tight and hugged him. “Thank you, Sans. Thank you...so much.”

He rubbed your back, his boney fingers gently running over the bumps of your spine. “Merry Christmas, Ki-...____. Merry Christmas.” His teeth touched your cheek in what was supposed to be a kiss. You blushed a bright red and smiled. 

“Merry Christmas, Sans.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, lovelies! I know this is late in the day but time got the better of me. Still Christmas so still relevant! :D Enjoy.


	5. The Memories

Christmas was amazing. Not only did you meet new people but you also got a new home. You felt accepted in such a short time, it was almost overwhelming to you. You felt so accepted that they came back again and again, always to have amazing feasts with you until the new year. Tis the season for partying, like Mettaton would say. You watched when they all mingled with each other, with you. You shared laughs with them, games, dinner. 

Gathered around the table, eating, was wonderful with a family. Papyrus had help from the kind Toriel when they made a massive feast for all the monsters there. You would get up every now and then and help set the table only to have Toriel smile kindly at you and shoo you away to have a good time with the others. 

Eventually everyone was seated at the table. Frisk was bouncing in their seat between Toriel and Asgore. Undyne was sitting beside Alphys with the biggest grin on her face when she said something that caused Alphys to turn red. You smiled at them, at their love.

Papyrus set the last of the plates and sat beside Mettaton. Sans nearly cringed watching him whom he thought was just a bag of bolts with zero heart for his brother. He made his way into the seat next to yours. It felt so strange to him to feel relief when dreams still plagued him. 

He would remember all those resets, all those deaths. Loss after loss could do a lot to a man...skeleton.

In previous dinners, Sans watched you when you happily ate the food Toriel made. He would smile and feel such warmth in his heart that all his friends had included you in their family. That is, until one day he saw you staring at your knife. There was no expression on your face except that of a poker face, just...watching your reflection in the silver. Sans watched when your hands twitched and your muscles tightened around the kitchen tool.

“_____?” Toriel whispered softly, shaking your arm gently.

Sans watched when you tensed. He watched when your head turned to meet her gaze, your grip on the knife tightening if it were possible. Sans saw a familiar red hue pass across your eyes. He was frozen in place. Eyes suddenly wide, he was unable to move. All those memories. Flooding back.

Toriel placed a hand over yours. “Child, are you alright?”

You shook your head and dropped the knife. “I’m sorry...Excuse me…” you pushed out of your seat gently and walked upstairs to Sans’s room. It was silent when everyone else watched you go.

You felt your sins crawling on your back as you closed the door and sank down against it, only to meet the window to the night sky. You folded your hands in your lap tightly and kept your head down. What was wrong with you, you wondered.

“Why didn’t you do it?” a sinister voice hissed in your head. A voice that plagued your dreams, your ‘memories’, your mind. You felt like you were going crazy and you always needed to assure yourself that you weren’t.

“She’s my friend...I’m not going to hurt any of them…” you whispered.

“They don’t care about you. They’re not your friends.” it hissed.

“They...they are my friends. They gave me a home…”

“Oh please, you’re just a lab rat. They take pity on you. HE takes pity on you.”

“Stop…” you whined. Sliding your hands to your head, weaving your fingers through your hair. You felt cold. Your hands were cold. Everything around you was cold again. You were in that same cold forest. That same flower waited in the middle for you with a sinister smile upon its face. 

However, this time, it had company. 

Standing beside the flower was another child. They looked just like Frisk except...their skin wasn’t as pale as Frisk’s. Pink lighted their cheeks and a smile crept upon their face so easily sending shivers down your spine. 

“Stop...I don’t want to hear this…” you whined to them desperately.

“Oh but you need to hear this,” they cooed together. The child reaching a hand out to you.

You felt like you were being shaken then. Your back tingling like the feeling of knocking on wood.

Oh…

You were in Sans’s room you realized. Someone was knocking on our door for what seemed like forever. You didn’t move. You stayed in your sitting position. Too afraid to move.

That was when familiar boney arms enveloped themselves around you. When had someone joined you in the room, you wondered. You couldn’t speak, yet you allowed yourself to sink into the owner’s hold. You looked up, meeting with the pinpricks of Sans’s eyes. “I…”

“Shhh...I know,” he murmured, holding you. 

Your fingers gripped the fuzz of his jacket. Your eyes focused on the windows when a loud bang broke the silence.

Oh.

Fireworks.

You smiled. You’ve never seen fireworks before. They were so colorful and you were grateful that Sans’s room gave you a good view of it.

Sans raised his head to look at you. He watch your doll like lips curl into a smile when more of the colorful fireworks went up. “Hey, kiddo. Looks like you’re...bursting with excitement,” he said with a grin.

You just laughed and held him tighter. He shifted to sit beside you, allowing you to lean your head on him.

You spent the rest of the night like that. Watching the fireworks until they died down, until the voices of your friends died down, and until you fell into a dreamless sleep. Dreams never came when Sans was around.

You felt safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being patient with this one! Happy New Year everyone and I hope you all have a wonderful 2016! Hopefully from here on out chapters will be getting a little longer. *Since I don't start my semester till the end of January*
> 
> Anyway, love you all and have a wonderful time with family and friends!


	6. The signs

Days went on like that. You were plagued with nightmares every night. Those two always visited your dreams. They always poked and prodded at your conscience. They chipped away at your will and you used most of your willpower to keep composure because you knew that Sans always had an eye on you. He look was always knowing and you wondered what exactly he knew yet you never asked. You thought it was just him being protective.

You felt smothered and you didn’t know why. You felt irritated, tingly, odd; like thousands of ants crawled against our skin when you were kept inside. You needed space. You needed air. However, Sans wanted you to stay inside. Although, one day, Sans told you that Papyrus was dragging him off to get back to work. He hadn’t wanted to go to his sentry station, yet Papyrus wouldn’t let him out of it, calling him a ‘Lazy Bones’.

Sans didn’t want to leave you but you felt the need to finally set out of the house. You’ve never left the house since you arrived and you were breathless. You thought Snowdin looked so beautiful, lively, welcoming. You grew used to seeing everyone yet you’ve never seen the outside, their homes, different locations. Locations that Undyne told you about like: the waterfall, the hotlands, and so forth. You wanted Sans to take you out, to show you those locations. Yet he wouldn’t. (At least, you’ve never asked.)

You looked up at the Skelebrother’s house which was still decorated with Christmas decoration considering Christmas had passed a few weeks ago. Yet you smiled and shrugged it off, making your way passed their house.

You saw a path near their house heading north, however, you saw the beautiful lights that illuminated Snowdin ahead. Your breath caught by the overwhelming feeling that rushed over you by spying a library. (Some of your memories reminded you that you loved books.) You also felt your heart swell when you saw children gathered by a Christmas tree that still stood.

Glancing over at the northern path, you decided against it for now and walked west into the town. Passing a library, hotel, even the tree, you looked around and took in your environment. 

You felt a small thud against you. Looking down you saw a young child with no arms. They looked up at you and grinned. “Hey I’m sorry!”

“Where are you off to in such a hurry,” you said with a smile, kneeling in front of the kid.

“I’m gonna watch Undyne!” They exclaimed and grinned. “I’m Monster Kid btw”

Monster Kid? Easy enough to remember, you thought. “Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m _____”

“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” They ran around you, tripped and faceplanted, before getting back up and running in front of you to face you. “Oh my gosh! Undyne said something about you! You must be cool too!”

You laughed, “I’m far from cool...well, go have fun ok?”

“I’ll see you around then” he called out in a hurry, already running off towards the northern path you had debated on.

“Go after him,” a familiar hiss of a voice rang loud in your mind.

You hesitated and shook your head and stood. To your right, you smelled the scent of various foods. It looked to be a Pub, the sign said “Grillby’s”. You peeked inside only to find the place completely full. You remember Sans had told you a few things about the place. About how he had a tab there and you could order whatever you wanted on him. Also how he never paid that said tab. You felt bad to take the food without paying. You also didn’t want to busy Grillby even more by the looks of the crowded pub.

Instead, the fiery bartender looked you direction and waved as if in invitation. You couldn’t decipher his expression from behind his glasses, yet you felt that he seemed to know you. You figured you’d come back when it had calmed down so instead you smiled and shook your head no before stepping out into the cold again.

You looked towards the edge of Snowdin and made your way to a small shop that was near the end and exit of Snowdin. The lights were on and it looked empty. You thought you’d take a look at what was sold. You pushed aside a curtain and walked inside. Surprisingly, it was very warm inside compared to the chilly air of the town. However, it wasn’t nearly as warm as how Grillby’s had been. You looked around and were greeted with things that seemed so simple yet looked really cute. You saw a few manly bandanas, cinnamon bunnies, and even some bicicles. 

“What can I getcha, deary?” A lovely woman’s voice spoke up. You saw an older looking bunny woman walk to the table to you. You thought it was safe to say that she probably owned the small cozy shop.

“O-oh, I was just looking. It’s so nice in here.”

“Well it’s my way of making a living,” she said with a smile.

“Oh...well...the cinnamon bunnies look delicious,” you smiled up at her shyly.

“Oh dear, here~” She walked around the counter and carefully placed one in a paper bag. She folded the top neatly and held it out to you. “They’re fresh,” she smiled. “First one’s on the house,” she said, and winked.

“Oh! No I couldn’t!” you protested, reaching into your pocket, about to pull out some gold from your pocket.

She swatted at your hand with her free hand, “oh shush, next time you can pay me,” she said, pushing the bag into your hand. 

Grateful, you took it and thanked her before leaving the store again. You opened the bag and inhaled the sweet scent that tickled your nose. Your mouth was watering and you couldn’t help yourself when you reached into the bag and took a piece. You thought you would save the rest for Papy and Sans when they got home as you popped the piece into your mouth. You moaned in ecstasy as the sweet pastry touched your tongue. You knew in that moment you’d come back and get more sometime.

BZZZZZZ.

You felt your phone Toriel gave you for Christmas buzz in your pocket. Pulling it out, you saw it was Sans and you smiled, answering immediately. “Sans!”

You heard his breathy chuckle, “Hey you. What are you up to? MTT reruns again?”

You looked around the village and swallowed, “yea..boring ol’ MTT reruns..”

“Hm? You don’t sound too sure, kid.”

You smiled at his rising suspicion in his voice. “Oh I don’t remember every episode,” you said with a laugh, looking in the direction of the north path. The nagging feeling in the back of your head had arisen again. Their whispers lulling you in the direction. You hadn’t even remembered moving your feet as you made you way to the path. 

He chuckled, “hey, Paps is making spaghetti today so look forward to it.”

You smiled in excitement. You really did love his cooking. “Oh I can’t wait,”

“SANS”

You nearly laughed when your heard Papyrus’s voice in the distance on Sans’s side. You had a feeling that Sans was slacking off (again).

“Whoops, cya at home, ______”

His voice suddenly cut off and Papy’s voice was suddenly the voice on the line, “HUMAN! ALLOW MY LAZY BROTHER TO WORK!”

You laughed, “Sorry, Paps. I’ll see you both at home.”

“NYEH HEH HEH, SEE YOU AT HOME, HUMAN!” and the line went dead.

You grinned down at the phone screen to the picture of you and Undyne squished into the tiny picture. She had her biggest grin on and you felt so calm compared to the picture. Both in ugly Christmas sweaters, you could see the decorations of the party that you had during the holidays. You were grateful to have so many friends. 

Looking up, you froze. In front of you was a river and a cloaked ferryman...or woman standing on a canoe type boat. They looked over at you and you swore you could hear a smile in their voice. “Tralala, would you like a ride?” 

“Go,” the voice nagged, clearly annoyed.

Hesitantly, you nodded and stepped on the boat.

“Where should we go?”

“Um...the Waterfall?”

“Then off we go,” the ferryperson said before the boat started to move.

“Tra la la”

You smiled and looked around at the little scenery. You were a little worried that Sans may not want you to be going to another part of the Underground. You felt compelled to either way.

“Beware of the man who speaks in hands,” the ferry person said then. Their tone almost serious.

“Huh…?” Your eyes snapped back to the ferryperson, only to find them looking back at you in silence.

You felt so cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I hope it wasn't too long and worth the wait. I'm really trying to add some plot too. I know I've added mainly fluff sprinkles and I really was hesitant that there wasn't much mention of Gaster or something...rising I guess. But later on there will be chapters with our favorite character and their own fluff! Either way, I hope you enjoy for now! And have a lovely week~


	7. New People, New Behaviors

You were relieved when the ride was over. You felt relief when your feet stepped off the ferry. You didn’t understand what had happened there, why the ferryperson looked at you so...coldly? You couldn’t see their face, however, you could still feel the chill up your spine when you saw the dark of their cloak looking in your direction.

What had they meant when they said the man that spoke with hands? Was that supposed to mean something to you? You started to doubt your actions when you wondered if you should have left Snowdin to begin with. Would Sans be angry with you? Would he kick you out? You wondered when you looked down at the house’s keychain on your phone. 

It wasn’t until you hear the ferryperson leave when you looked up. You didn’t want to be rude so you felt bad when you didn’t at least thank them. Looking ahead you decided to go ahead with your exploration. You didn’t know what to expect. Everything outside of Snowdin was so different and quiet. When you moved up a narrow path you shivered at how cold you realized it was. In Snowdin you felt warn in the Skelebrother’s house, you felt warm at the Librarby, at Grillby’s, at the Bunny’s shop. Even though snow blanketed the little town you had many reasons to feel warm. 

Here you were alone. Only the sounds of your footsteps, water dripping, and rushing water accompanied you and it was so cold.

Walking up to a cave wall, to your right and left were two paths to your right and left. “More decisions,” you grumbled to yourself.

“Go in the cave first,” the familiar voice hissed. 

It seemed so odd to you. So odd that this voice had been talking to you more lately. It didn’t mean that your nightmares stopped completely, yet it felt like you weren’t alone even when you were and you kind of liked the feeling of talking to someone even though you knew they weren’t necessarily good. And you didn’t even know if you were sane, you just knew that there was a voice, this voice speaks to you and guides you. You wanted to make friends with your little voice in your head.

“What’s in the cave?” you murmured to yourself.

“Gerson,” the voice hissed.

Curiously you walked inside only to be met with an elderly looked tortoise. By the looks of him, he had gone on so many adventures. He was dressed like an archeologist, while holding a rather large magnifying glass and wearing a tan pith hat. He had a pointed beard that looked combed, wrinkled with age and..he was missing some teeth. You felt like he had so many stories to tell but you didn’t know if you wanted to listen to everything. Then again, he also looked a little crazy. 

You smiled when you heard the voice in your head snort like choking on their laughter. You liked the sound even though it sounded.

“Woah there!” The elder tortoise said. “I got some neat junk for sale.”

You looked in a pouch at your waist to see some gold so you thought it was okay to some something from the cute old coot. Then again, you also wanted to make as many friends as possible in the underground, even if they were only friends briefly. “Um...Who are you?”

“Why I’m Gerson, kid. I’ve been around a long time. Maybe too long,” he squinted and said thoughtfully. “Studying history sure is easy when you’ve lived through so much of it yourself! Wa ha ha!”

You smiled at his weird laugh. “What are you selling, Gerson?”

“Well take a look! Wa ha ha!” he gestured to his items. You saw interesting human things like cloudy glasses and a torn notebook. You also saw interesting things such as a weird tea looking thing. 

“What’s that?” you said curiously.

“Why that’s Sea Tea, little lady! It’s delicious!”

You smiled and nodded. “I’ll take one then please.”

He gave you one of the Sea Teas and you paid him the 18G for it. You were eager to try it, but like your cinnamon bunny, you decided to save it for later to share with Sans and Papy when you got back home. “Thank you! Bye!” you grinned as you walked out of the cave only to hear the old tortoise yell back, “Be careful out there, kid!”

You smiled because it reminded you of Sans. He’d always called you kid and you felt warmth in your chest when he said it. Though you felt a greater warmth when he would say your first name as well.

Finally coming out of the cave shop, you looked to your left and right. You remember Undyne mentioned that she lived in the Waterfall yet you forgot which way it was. 

“Left,” the voice said, aiding you.

Thank you, you thought.

You made your way down the left path in a calming silence. Moments later you made it to a small body of water with two paths heading north. You decided to head up the right path first since it was closer. Two houses were beside each other that looked to be drooping to the right and the left. 

I wonder who lives there, you thought. You thought the pink house was a cute shade. You decided to try there first, knocking and only being met with silence. After waiting a couple moments you shrugged and walked to the blue home and again, like the pink house, you knocked on the door. This time you heard the door open.

“Oh...Oh...I didn’t expect anyone...Oh…” A familiar ghost “stood” at the door. He was glancing away with a timid like expression.

You were trying to remember his name, recalling that you’d heard it during the christmas party. “Oh! Napstablook!” You smiled.

“Oh...you’re nice...come in...or not...you don’t have to…”

You should hear the sound of music inside sounding like something you’ve never heard before. “Oh that music sounds nice,” you said, smiling reassuringly at the ghost as you accepted his invitation and walked in. 

“I...I’m making a mixtape...you can look around if you want...you don’t have to...just a suggestion…” He said before floating over to his computer.

You smiled and looked around the room. It was small inside yet it seemed cozy. Wandering the room you looked and listened to Napstablook’s various collections of his own mixtapes. They sounded really good yet there were a few that you weren’t interested and it’s normal for a tape to have songs that not everyone agrees with. 

You felt it rude to check people’s fridges yet you walked yourself over to his fridge all while wondering how on earth ghosts eat in the first place. 

He appeared next to you and offered you a ghost sandwich to which you accepted on the count that you hadn’t eaten any of the snacks that you had received today. Taking a bite your teeth phased through it giving you a rush of pain up your jaw. 

“Oh...I’m sorry...I guess humans can’t eat ghost food...but my family has a tradition of lying on the ground and feeling bad about ourselves if you want to join me…”

You shrugged and found yourself spending countless minutes staring off into deep space. Staring out into the infinite wonders of space where you’re only a speck in the collection of stars. 

You couldn’t breathe.

You were overwhelmed by the sheer massiveness of the open space around you. It was so beautiful. Now you understood why Sans liked the stars. You thought you should find him a good telescope one day.

“Get up, idiot. Don’t mess around!” the familiar voice hissed. 

You froze then shook your head and stood up. The beautiful vast space around you disappeared, leaving you back in Napstablook’s home.

“Thank you...for doing this with me…” 

“It was wonderful, Blooky” you grinned. It quickly fell away when you saw him looking at you sadly. “Oh...um...sorry Napstablook...I’ll see you later.” You quickly hurried out before you did something else to upset him. You didn’t know why he looked so sad, you only called him Blooky. Why did it look like he wanted to cry?

You rubbed your head and walked back down the path then entering the path right next door. You came up to a cute fish looking house. You could only guess that it might be Undyne’s home because you hadn’t seen any other fish person in the Underground. 

You raised your fist to knock when you suddenly froze. You felt your eyes water, they felt hot. Your face felt hot. Your stomach churning. You felt yourself double over in a dry heave. 

Everything went black. You felt a thud.

Moments later you awoke in the familiar woods that plagued your nightmares. You tensed and backed away, looking around instinctively for the flower and child who haunted your dreams. You shouldn’t have left Snowdin. You should have told Sans. You should have called Sans. You should have told him to bring you home. 

You tried to move again and cried out from some pain from our chest. You looked down to see the child’s knife to be protruding from your chest. You felt your heart poud from the sight of your own blood. 

Why?

Why did you feel good seeing that blood? It’s so warm. You looked up to meet the bright red eyes of the child. You wondered if it were possible to die in reality when you die in your dreams. 

The child walked over to you with a grin expression. They grabbed their knife and tore it out of you. “You weren’t supposed to be here now.” The voice sounded like the voice in your head. The child smiled wickedly, baring their teeth at you. Their eyes smiling with blood lust and madness. Yet you noticed a calmness behind those eyes that you hadn’t seen before. A calmness towards you. “I’m Chara,” they said to you, holding a blood stained hand to you.

“..._____” you grabbed their hand and got up. 

“I know, idiot,” they didn’t smile.

You opened your mouth to speak but closed it again, at a loss for words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sans spent his work hours lounging at his sentry station. He even took a few moments to catch some sleep while on the job. He was thankful that Papyrus doesn’t always stay with him when he works. Sans knew that Papyrus liked to visit Undyne so he could do some training. Papy wasn’t a fighter yet he wanted recognition. 

Sans didn’t think he needed people to give him recognition. Papy was a good bag of bones. People loved Papyrus even when he didn’t think so. Yet lately, he’d had a thing for Mettaton and it’s filled his head with more ideas of being popular, of meeting Mettaton’s expections.

Now Sans hated the airheaded bucket of bolts, but he knew that Mettaton cared about Papyrus whether he were famous or not. Pap always loved making people happy.

Sans spent some time looking down at his phone with a lazy grin on his face. He wanted to call you again. He wanted to ask you out to dinner. He figured maybe he could tell you how he felt. Then again, maybe you weren’t interested. 

Sans knew there weren’t going to be anymore resets, no more repeated timelines. He thought maybe it was time to move forward with his life. He wanted to give his life something new, a new meaning.

He decided to throw caution to the wind as he called you. It went to voicemail. You always answered your phone. Maybe you didn’t reach it in time, he thought as he called you again, only to be greeted with your voice in the voicemail again.

Sans figured then that you might be asleep so he sent you a quick text and leaned back in his chair again.

Moments later, Sans’s phone buzzed in his lap. Eagerly, he picked it up without checking the ID. “____!” he said grinning.

“It’s Undyne.” The fishwoman’s rough voice said.

“Oh…” Sans’s smile fell. “What’s up?”

“You might want to come here. Something’s wrong with _____.”

Sans froze and hung up, moving faster as he ever had as he teleported away from his sentry station.

You should have been home, he repeated in his mind in denial.

You should have been home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah I'm sorry I have such a horrible schedule for these stories of mine! I'm so glad this one has gotten some love though. I feel like I'm still treading through the waters and I feel really bummed by how it's coming out and as a writer there shouldn't really be an excuse when stepping out of one's comfort zone! Second person is new to me and I truly am trying so if you notice mistakes please let me know! But when I look at the number of reads this has I feel so thankful that people are liking it! I promise it'll get better and there definitely will be fluff! 
> 
> So school started for me today (last year! before graduating!) and I've decided to try and put my updates out on Saturdays the latest. Right now I'm going to was into the flow so even though this came out today I'll do my best to put another this weekend! Again, sorry this conclusion is so long! Thank you reading this far if you made it all the way here! Hugs!


	8. Determination

You were sitting in the chilling darkness of the woods, the snow had melted around you and ou felt damp through your pants. Still as the oak and fir, your eyes never left the blood red ones staring back, showing no emotion. They were so quiet, you thought. Chara didn’t look angry, nor did they look like they wanted to fight. You wanted to move, yet every time you did, Chara’s hand that held their knife twitched. So you stayed still to make them feel comfortable. To let them relax. “I...um...Chara why did you bring me here?”

Chara’s eyes scanned you as they lowered their knife. “I needed to speak with you…”

“A-About what?”

“You’ve felt me haven’t you? That blood lust,” they said with a growing mad smile. As quickly as it appeared it disappeared. Chara looked down at their blade. Their eyes have never been so unsure. You’ve always seen them so intent in their goals, yet now you watched as their hand loosened around the hilt of the blade.

“Is...that what that is…? Why I always feel it? I don’t...understand,” you stared at your hands in a confused daze. 

“I wanted to purge this world,” Chara murmured. “I wanted humanity to fall, to die. If not by my and my brother’s combined strengths then by me. I wanted them to suffer. I wanted them to hurt like they’ve hurt me.” They grip their blade again and let their eyes meet yours. “Don’t you see?”

“I...don’t want to hurt anyone. I love the friends I’ve made. I love...er…”

“The short one? Sans?”

Flustered you meet their gaze, “We’re pretty short too.”

“Valid point, I suppose,” they grin, their usual wicked smile.

“I’m just being weird though...he doesn’t like me like I like him.”

“Then kill him,” they said bluntly.

“No!” you answered quickly.

“I thought as much, didn’t hurt to bring it up.” Chara begins to pace slowly. 

You shifted to sit on your knees and stilled when Chara shot a glare at you. You felt small under their gaze, however, when you stopped fidgeting, they returned to their pacing. You couldn’t help but watch them. Chara was usually so intent on killing. Chara always wanted fresh blood, fresh kills. This was new to you. Seeing Chara in such a relaxed state. Chara’s face looked so solemn, peaceful. 

You couldn’t tell if you were awake or asleep. You couldn’t tell because you knew that you were heading to Undyne’s, but at the same time, these dreams of yours always felt so real. The only thing missing this time was Flowey. 

“How does it feel?” Chara said, breaking the silence.

“E-Excuse me?” you said, looking up at them with what you thought must have been confusion.

“The determination,” they said meeting your eyes. 

“The...what?” 

“The determination,” Chara repeated and walks over to you so there was nothing but a few inches between the two of you. Chara touched their knife to their lips and smiled a smile that sent shivers down your spine. They lowered their knife and traced the tip along a part of your arm, opening skin. They grinned when they saw blood collect at the edge of the cut. They watched the crimson drop trail down your head. 

It did hurt, you thought partially distressed. However, as the blood appeared, you noticed how red it was. You also noticed that it wasn’t as dark as normal normal blood was. Why…?

“Hmm...how curious,” they lifted their blade to look at your blood closer. Their eyes lifted to yours as they trailed their tongue along the safe side of the blade and hummed with approval.

“Wh...What is?”

Chara smiled. “Maybe you should go home. Never know when Flowey would return. Also, try to fight the urges,” they said more seriously this time, lowering their blade.

“W-Wait! Why don’t you want me to kill?”

“It’s too late for this world, _______. So many resets. So many deaths. Living again and again only to kill everyone again and again. There’s no point to that anymore.” Their hand gripped their knife. To you, it seemed as if it took a lot of determination for Chara to tell you that. 

You felt your heart swell. Strangely. Chara wanted change. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sans had never moved so fast in his life. He left his sentry station and he knew he’d have to explain to Papyrus later. However, he pushed the thought aside and collected a ton of power before he teleported and appeared outside a fishlike house. Sans always felt it convenient to make fish puns to Undyne that, she too, hated.

Undyne had been waiting outside her house with Papyrus. So much for explaining to Papyrus later, he thought. He quickly made his way to the two talking. “where is she?”

They froze and looked over at him, clearly startled by his arrival. It was Undyne who answered, “She’s inside. Brat, hasn’t woken up yet,” she said, clearly upset that her new friend was hurt in some way.

“can i see her?” Sans urged. 

“BROTHER, MAYBE YOU SHOULD LET _____ SLEEP!” Papyrus butted in.

Sans looked up at his brother. The white pinpricks of his eyes were gone leaving his hollow sockets staring back at Papyrus. “b r o t h e r l e t m e s e e h e r.”

“S-SANS…”

“Just let him in, Paps,” she said, putting her hand on Papyrus’s shoulder. She led everyone inside her place and gestured to a blue door which was probably her bedroom. Sans scanned the area upon walking in and only stopped when his eyes found you. You were asleep on Undyne’s bed. Sans noticed how your face looked so distressed, so uncomfortable. Whatever you were dreaming of clearly wasn’t good. 

He made his way to the bed and sat beside you. He trailed his phalanges through your hair lightly. “_____, cmon kid. wake up.”

He froze when you finally shifted and moved his hand away as quickly as he placed it on your head. 

You opened your eyes and scanned the room in a daze before meeting Sans’s. “Sans…?”

Sans was frozen until he remembered that you were alright. You were alright, awake, and right in front of him. He quickly scooped you into his arms. “i told you not to leave.” he mumbled, burying his head in the crook of your neck to assure him you were okay.

“I...I’m sorry, Sans. I was curious…” you wrapped your arms around him. 

It was cute seeing him worried, you thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah!! I rise from the dead! (hence the name phoenix *cough cough*) Anyway, it's been a doozy getting into the swing of school but now I'm all set and ready and I'll do my best to put up steady uploads so y'all don't forget about poor ol' Sansy here! haha anyway have a lovely upcoming weekend and thanks for reading!


	9. One Step Forward

Sans wouldn’t let you leave the room for the rest of the day and for a couple days after that. He was constantly checking on you, bombarding you with questions about what you need, your concerns, if you were hungry, thirsty, bored, sleepy. You wanted to tell him to relax, yet you enjoyed the attention. You almost felt like a couple which how much he seemed to care yet none of you had said a word about it to each other and to you, it didn’t seem like you were going to. Though even with those thoughts, you somehow wished you could muster up some courage to say something to him about it. 

Occasionally you would hear Undyne, Papyrus, and Sans arguing in the living room. Usually Undyne arguing about how “the brat needs to get off her bed.” Yet you knew she didn’t mean it in a cruel way. She just - you know- wanted her bed back. Which was understandable.

On what you hoped was your final day there, you were laying in the bed looking out one of the windows solemnly. You hadn’t heard from Chara since they last told you to stop. You haven’t heard anything since then. You haven’t dreamt since then and strangely enough it felt weird to you. You wanted to hear something for some reason. You had hoped maybe you could reach out to the voice in your head but didn’t, in fear of running into Flowey instead. It was difficult to sleep. When sleep used to come so easy to you before, you had trouble reaching it now and the past few days you would wake from a minimal amount of it and you would trudge through the day half awake before Sans forced you back to bed.

The door opening broke you out of your thoughts, you eyes meeting the the familiar white pinpricks. Sans was holding a tray of food and your stomach fell. If you ate one more bowl of the scalding soups of Undyne you were going to explode. “Morning,” you said with a tired smile.

“hey, you,” the shorter skeleton grinned as he walked over with some food that didn’t look like the familiar scalding food you had to eat before. “i thought i’d get you something new.”

You smiled at the sweet gesture and also out of your stomach’s relief. You watched him walk over to you bedside and sit beside you. Sans watched you take the tray from him eagerly. He was happy when he saw you downing all the food that he had gotten from Grillby. More to add to the tab, he thought. But Sans could tell how your face scrunched up when you ate Undyne’s or Papyrus’s food. 

Watching as you ate, Sans wanted to speak up about something and nothing. He felt as if no words needed to be said as they sat in comfortable silence yet there were many things that did at the same time. Why did Sans feel so conflicted, he would sometimes wonder. Yet other times he knew exactly why, mostly because this timeline wouldn’t stay forever. He couldn’t stay comfortable forever and he knew it. 

It hurt him, knowing he couldn’t appreciate a timeline. He had his future torn away from him all too many times and he didn’t know if he could let you into that life of his. He knew you had seen Chara. He knew you weren’t innocent nor were you naive. Yet Sans didn’t know to what extent Chara was provoking you somehow. What Sans wouldn’t give but to run his phalanges through your hair. To hold you without regret. To throw caution to the wind and call you his. But he knew enough that he couldn’t. 

So he sat there in silence with you, appreciating your company while he had it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You sat there, comfortably beside the shorter skeleton. Yet no words were passed between the both of you and you felt warm and safe. He made you feel safe.

“Talk to him,” the familiar voice said in your head. You hadn’t seen any images this time, no visions. Only a voice who seemed to talk to you with a calmer demeanor unlike the tense voice they usually had. 

You didn’t want to speak up so you wouldn’t worry Sans. You tilted your head as if in thought and tried to speak to the voice in your mind, something you hadn’t tried before. “Talk to him? About what?” you thought. 

“You like the idiot, don’t you?” they said, their tone smug.

“Um...maybe?” you said shyly. 

“Oh you do,” they hummed. “I don’t plan to reset this timeline yet, or at all. You should try to make something of this one, hm? Even if something goes wrong, at least you tried” again, their voice sounded calm but you couldn’t help but feel untrusting towards it. “I know how you’re feeling and I understand. But I’m not talking about myself, I’m talking about you right now.”

“I guess…I don’t want it to be a waste that’s all.”

“Is it really?”

“I-” you started.

“hey, kid?” Sans’s voice broke the link between the two of you forcing you to raise your eyes to meet his waiting ones.

“Oh, yea?” you asked curiously.

“you’re awfully quiet there, ______.” he said, his voice full of concern for you. It’s always full of concern for you and it made you heart swell with warmth. It made you want to take Chara’s advice and talk to him about how you felt, however, there was still something telling you no. You couldn’t quite place it, but you always felt something hold you back from Sans and you couldn’t help that, for once, you wanted to push against the wall. 

Throwing caution to the wind, you pushed your tray aside and shifted to you side to face Sans. You didn’t know if skeletons could sweat but you felt that Sans was going to because of how nervous he looked at the moment. He was tense, still.

You swallowed and felt your stomach tighten. With shaky hands, you reached over and took one of Sans’s hands in yours. The hand was cold but it still curled around your smaller one making you feel warm.

You lowered your eyes to your joined hands before raising them again to meet the skeleton’s white pinprick eyes. You leaned forward.

Then the door slammed open. The royal guard was standing there with Papyrus. The light brightened the once dark room. 

You’ve never moved so fast in your life, curling under the covers by your tray and Sans looked out the window with an adorable cyan blush on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this was a long over due update to the story! I promise next ones won't take forever long to come up! For now, enjoy the almosts and have a good rest of the weekend. :)


	10. Chara

“You can’t protect them forever, Chara” the familiar flower’s voice spoke up. They were standing in the familiar dark forest. The snow melting and dripping from tree leaves onto the frost covered soil. The cool breeze drifted by causing the small flower to shiver and lower his head. The cold affected him like it would any other flower and Chara took note when they noticed the drooping of his petals and the drying of his leaves. 

Chara wasn’t as sympathetic as you made them out to be. Chara knew their brother was bothered by their location yet Chara decided to keep in their own mind, pacing the area while biting their nail, deep in thought. Their other arm was around her stomach loosely holding their bloodstained blade. “I’m not protecting them,” Chara said coldly, their eyes avoiding the flower. 

Chara could still feel the adrenalin rush from the sight of blood yet they didn’t feel it necessary to live through another reset. Killing their adoptive mother, father, “friends,” Chara knew what was to come. They knew how people would react, how they would look at Chara with pain in their eyes. Chara would watch as the light, the life, dimmed away from their eyes as their bodies went slack and cold. 

They would feel accomplished yet find a need to move onto the next target. And when they finished? They would reset the world again and try again. Again. And again.

Chara wanted to start over again, so this time, they didn’t reset. Chara was aware that these people were brought back from the dead by some unnamed source. Was it real? This reset was new to chara because of you, because of the fact that they killed these people. So why are they there? Walking, talking, living with each other, unaware that Chara is still there. Unaware that that skeleton never really got rid of them. 

Now Chara knows they’re unable to show their face, knowing full well that they would be attacked upon sight. 

Chara wondered what that feeling would be like again? To be loved by a family again. Then stay turned their gaze to their blade and remembered how delusional their thoughts sounded. 

No one in their right mind would ever love Chara for the torture they’d caused towards the same people who loved them in their youth. Chara lived alone with the pestering flowey within the darkness of the forest that remained cold like Chara’s black heart. Though, did the forest mimic how Chara felt, when they watched the snow melt and thaw? Chara could feel emotions that were new to them and no matter how much they wished to push the feelings aside, Chara found reason to protect you from the flower who still had a cold face. It wasn’t his brother that was there but an Asriel without the sympathy. An Asriel without his tears and whiney voice. Chara felt nostalgic. 

Chara felt something they never thought they’d ever feel.

Chara felt regret.

“It sure looks like you were,” the flower snapped, breaking Chara out of their thoughts.

Chara looked over at Flowey, at his brother but not his brother. He wanted to question them? Fine. Chara would make sure he doesn’t raise his voice again. A familiar crazed smile tugged on Chara’s lips. “Did I?” Chara said calmly, walking to the flower with their blade held firmly in their hand. Chara knelt and pointed the blade at his face. “Do not question me.”

“Ch..Chara,” Flowey’s face shifted to the familiar goat face of their brother as his voice shifted to that familiar innocent face at the same time. 

Chara watched their face change in silence and lowered their blade. Chara turned and walked away from the flower. “You going to stay there sniffling or are you coming, you big baby.” Chara said calmly refraining from the need to be a slaughterer, a murderer, unmerciful, and so forth. They knew they weren’t good and they weren’t planning on succumbing to their regretful feelings.

As they walked, Chara heard the shifting of the earth and a whine from the flower. “Chara, can I get a lift?”

Chara sighed irritatedly and walked to Flowey. They picked them up and created a cushion in their backpack and placed Flowey within it. “Better?”

Chara could see the original Flowey’s face return and their annoyed look on their face. They glanced away and nodded once. 

And for some reason, Chara felt their heart swell by the whiney flower. 

How strange a feeling this was. Chara thought.

Very strange, they thought again as they picked their pack over their shoulder and commenced to walk away from the dark melting circle and wilting trees, towards the light afar, in a wide open space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally updating! Essay season is over and time to finally write again! Enjoy a short chapter, I felt like it would be interesting to give Chara a time to change, slowly. They're taking an Underfell turn so I hope it works out! Enjoy and a new chapter up soon! Maybe Sans will finally get with the reader, or not, who knows.


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